Perfect
by otterhoundgirl
Summary: "It was supposed to be perfect." Quick writing exercise. Not related to my other story, After The End, in any way. Review!


When I wake up, the flourescent hospital lights shine bright in my eyes. My vision blurs, but when I sit up, it gets better. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I look around the room. Peeta is in the corner, reading a book. His cheeks are streaked with tears, and new ones are pouring out of his blue eyes. He glances up from his novel and sees that I am awake. The book goes crashing to the floor as he comes to my side.

"You're awake," he says, his voice sorrowful. I feel his soft lips touch my forehead.

"What happened?" I ask.

"There was an, uh, accident," Peeta replies, more tears streaking down his face.

"What kind of accident?" I ask, becoming more and more confused by the moment.

"It was bad, love. The car crashed," he struggles to say, as more and more tears are pouring out of his eyes. I furrow my brow as I try to recall.

_"It's raining pretty badly Katniss, do you really need to take a trip to the clinic?" Peeta asked, concerned. I rolled my eyes._

_ "Yes! I'm due for my eight month appointment," I argued. He took me into his arms. _

_ "The roads are so wet, the car might crash," Peeta worried. _

_ "Stop worrying," I scolded. "Everything will be fine," I persisted._

_ "Let me come with you," he insisted. _

_ "No, that wedding cake won't ice itself. I'll be fine," I assured him_

"What kind of accident?" I ask, although I already know what happened.

_I'm riding in the car now. The driver struggles to see through the windshield, which is being pelted with droplets of rain and hail. _

_ "Not long now, we'll be there soon, Mrs. Everdeen," he assures me. I rub my stomach. Maybe Peeta was right. I should have waited…_

_I hear the breaks screech. The car flips over, and I'm rolling and rolling. Then my vison goes black._

Peeta sits on my bed. He takes a deep breath, and now he's sobbing.

"We lost her, Katniss," he chokes out. I gasp and start to cry. No, there must be some mistake…this can't be right. My eyes go down to my stomach, which is now flat again.

"They took her out?" I ask, shocked. Peeta nods sadly.

"They had to. Your life was in danger," he explains, giving me a hug. This is too much for me. I bury my face in my pillow and tears flow down my cheeks.

My baby girl. My beautiful baby girl. The baby I carried for eight months. The baby we decided to name Ainsley, the baby who would bring joy to me and Peeta. The baby who had a nursery already set up in one of the bedrooms at home. Gone. I start to wail at the thought of this. Peeta takes me in his arms and starts to rub small circles on my back. We sit there for a minute, holding each other. Then I mumble:

"Did you ever get to see her?" Peeta looks at me.

"No, I didn't. I wasn't even allowed in for the surgery," he says in a hollow voice. "They did give me a photograph, though," he adds. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a small picture, crumpled from being folded so many times. In the picture, a baby girl, quiet and blissful, is wrapped in a blanket. She is remarkably small, but she still looks so perfect that I want to take her in my arms, whisper to her that everything will be alright. But that can't happen.

"It what supposed to be perfect," I whisper, my voice so quiet that Peeta has to cup his ear in his hand to hear what I am saying.

"I know, love, I know," Peeta comforts, rubbinh small circles on my back again. "We'll find a way to cope, I know we will," he assures me, but it sounds like he is assuring himself as well.

_Five Years Later_

"Mommy, can I have some more of Daddy's cake?" my three year old daughter asks me.

"No, sweetheart, you've had enough," I tell her. She makes a pouty face then goes to watch a children's program on the television. She doesn't know why Peeta made this cake. Today is the day that Ainsley would have turned five.

It took Peeta and me a while to recover. There were times where I would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, and times where I could see Peeta silently crying, although he tried to stay strong, for me.

When I found out I was pregnant again, I was downright scared. I was so afraid something would go wrong. But when Primrose Ainsley Everdeen was delivered safely into my arms, I calmed down.

I now have a perfect life, as it may seem to some- a beautiful daughter, a loving husband, a nice, warm home. But something is missing- my daughter Ainsley. She is the reason it wil never be perfect.


End file.
